Airplane drive



Feb. 1, 1949. v. A. LARSEN AIRPLANE DEVICE I Filed Nov. 9, 1942 4Sheets-Sheet 1 1 INVENTOR 1 12 V v/cro/z AL ESEN Feb. 1, 1949. v, LARSEN2,460,587

-AIRPLANE DEVICE Filed Nov. 9 1942 v 4 Shet's-She't 2 INVENTOR.

V/CTC'A AZ 1 Feb 1 1949. v. A. LARs N I 2,460,587

AIRPLANE DEVICE Filed Nov. 9, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 V- A. LARSENAIRPLANE DEVICE Feb. 1, 1949.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed'Nov. 9,, .1942

Patented Feb. 1, 1949 AIRPLANE DRIVE Victor A. Larsen, Altadena, Calif.,assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Gustav Hanke, Massapequa, N. Y.

Application November 9, 1942, Serial No. 464,958

I 8 Claims.

This invention relates to drive means for airplanes, More particularly,it relates to drive means used in those airplanes in which the enginesand the propellers are located at a distance from one another, and inwhich the axis of the propeller may be out of line with the axis of thecrankshaft of the engine, as described, for example, in Patent No.2,359,652, of which this is a continuation-impart.

Various attempts have been made to build airplanes in which the engineand the propeller are located at a distance from one another, forexample, where the engine is located in the fuselage and the propeller,or propellers are located in or about the wing structure. However, noairplane of such design previously tried has been found to besatisfactory. All airplanes of this design which havebeen proposed andbuilt experimentally rely on remote driving means, such as gearing,drive shafts, chains, and the like, to transmit the driving power to thepropellers. The use of elements of this type has heretofore invariablyresulted in the introduction of play or lost motion between the engineand the propeller and augmented the vibrations of the engine and thebacklash from the propeller. This has caused airplanes of this design tobe subject to a great deal of objectionable vibration; much more thanairplanes in which the propeller is mounted directly on the enginecrankshaft.

It is an object of this invention to provide an airplane construction ofthe type in which the engine and the propeller may be out of line withthe axis of the crankshaft and driven by remote driving means, withoutthe objectionable vibrations inherent in prior constructions.

Another object of this invention is to provide a remote drive means forairplanes in which the pulsing vibrations normally transmitted by theengine to the propeller, are dampened to a minimum by use of a fluiddrive connection in the drive means between the engine and thepropeller.

Another object of the invention is to provide a remote drive means forairplanes in which engine vibrations are absorbed and kept from beingtransmitted to the airplane and propeller drive shafts by means of afluid drive connection in the drive means at a point between the engineand the propeller.

Another object of the invention is to provide a remote drive means foruse in airplanes of this type in which oscillatingor swaying vibrationsby through a flexible coupling,

Another object of the invention is to provide afluid drive connectionbetween the driving and driven shaft of an engine in which there is noconnection between the driving and driven shaft by which vibrations maybe transmitted from one shaft to the other.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds.

In the drawings which illustrate an airplane embodying features of thisinvention:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a single engine, single propeller airplane inwhich the engine is mounted back of the wing structure and out of linewith the engine.

Figure 2 is a side view of the airplane illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 1showing one form of remote driving connection and flexible coupling inthe drive means between the engine and the propeller.

Figure 4 is a sectional View showing in greater detail the form of fluiddrive coupling shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional view substantially on the line 55 of Figure 4showing the detailed construction of the oil distributor.

Figure 6 is a sectional view substantially on the line 6-6 of Figure 4showing in detail the core plug keyed to the oil distributor casting.

Figure 7 is a sectional View substantially on' the line 11 of Figure 4showing the impelled or driven member.

Figure 8 is a sectional view substantially on the 'line 8-8 of Figure 4showing the impeller or driving member of the fluid drive.

In the airplane chosen to illustrate the drive means of this invention,Figures 1 and 2, the airplane consists of a fuselage I provided with theusual wings 2, ailerons 3, tail 4, rudder 5, and elevators as in theusual design of airplane body construction, The cockpit 6 is located inthe front of the fuselage with the engine mounted in the fuselage toreduce wind resistance and the propeller mounted in the rear.

The engine 1 is located within the fuselage and at the rear of thecockpit and drives the propeller 8, which is preferably located aboveand at the rear of the wings of the airplane, through a remote drivingconnection. This connection extends from the engine upwardly through thehousing 9 to a stud shaft II] on which the propeller 8 is mounted.

While this type of remote drive may take various forms, in theembodiment illustrated it consists of a beveled ring gear 3 I, mountedon a shaft 32 which is driven from the engine i through a form offlexible coupling l3, which, in the illustrated form, is a fluid drivecoupling. This drive transmits a rotary motion from the crankshaft ofthe engine 7! to the ring gear H. The gear H in turn drives a similarbeveiedring gear it keyed to the bottom-end of the vertical shaft l5which is mounted and supported for rotarymovement in the housing 9. Theusual roller or ball bear ings are used to reduce friction. Aforced-feed lubricatin system picks up oil and forces it through conduit21 to lubricatethewupper gearing assembly 18 and I9, andfloodsthevarious bearings in the housing 9 with oil; The beveled ringgear 58 mounted and keyedsto'thertop of the ver tical shaft it drivesthe stud shaft Hi through ring gear iii to which it is keyed. The shaftiii in turn drives the propeller 8 mounted thereon. A housing 2.6:encloses: the-upperv gear? assembly.

While .thesairpl illustrated-u: in the drawing S11OWS5OH1Ycne..prope1lerra:nd:-1 one en ne, i W be. understood thattwo: or:morezpropellers may berdriven;fromithecsame engine by providing two ormore driving assemblies ofpthectype shown. These. may b-egmade-togo.:oif1latan angle to the ii-ne;of:thezengine crankshaft; or two ormore engines may; beprovided; each driving one or more; propellers.

In order; to, prevent the transmission of vibrationssfrcm: the engine'to the; drive 'means; the propeller and the; airplanezthrough' thesupporting; structure.- or from; the propeller back to the enginebecause of backlashlin' th-e driving connections; aflexibleecoupling is.used .to' connect the crankshaft of the engine 7 with the drivenshaft,itji'ofthevpropeller driveameans. The construction of; thiscoupling is such that it will absorb andeliminate pulsingand-oscillatingvibrations. The maximumwabsorption andelimination of vibrational forcesis possible by such means when l the crank-shaft and; the drivenshaft'are heldain spacedrelationshipywi-th one anotherso that any swing oroscillation in the one shaftrwfll not transmitted .to the other shaftand will not cause-theshaftsto contact :onetan'other. In Figure 4, whichillustratessa:preferred type-of coupling: arrangement: foraccomplishingx-thiswresult, the drivenshaft i2; although; mounted inaxial alignmentwviththercrankshaftli, is helda-in definitespacedrelationship thereto-;:and: is not connected with. the crankshaft211-- except through the flexible fluid drive connection sothat-comsiderableplay; is" possible without either-shaft touchingor affectingvthe other;

In this einbodimentiof invention, an impeller-member fijs keyed to theendrof thecrankshaft 2 i; and acts asztheiengine flywheel, although a'separate-- flywheelymay be provided if desired. Animpelled or drivenmember 261s m.ounted on the: driven shaft I 2 which ishollow. A: housing38 extends-from the outeredgeof the impeller member 22. andis-flexib1y-and rota-tabl-y connected with-the shafti Z.-.'I-fhe-impellermem-ber has a semicircular face 23- provided, with-Yaseries of vanes 24 and which may, if desired, be provided with acentralopen portion 25; Thedriven'member 26 is. securedfirmly to'thersh-aft l2andis shaped'sim-i'l'arly-tomember 22 with a semicircular recess.porti-orrd'! ihaving-vanesxz 8:- and, if'desired,

a central open portion zsithereini Th'e impeller 22 and;impelledilmembervzfi are'so arranged with respect to one anotherthat-when oil or other driving fluid-is in the space between the twomembers, rotation: ofthe-impeller-H and its vanes 24 4 will set up arotational movement of the oil or other driving fluid which in turn willbe transmitted to vanes 26 of the driven member 26 and cause the drivenmember to rotate by the transmission of power through the fluidconnection between the two members. This type of power transmissionlia-sbeenrdiscloseddn various patcuts; for example; in the -FottingerUnited States Letters Patent No. 1,199,364, granted September 26, 1916.w

The housing 3i) cooperates with the driving member 22 to enclose thedriven member 25 and to hold driving fluid .in the coupling. It'isconnected'at'one end to member 22 and is in slidable contact'withthe-hub 3! of the driven member 26 atthe other endthrough a flexiblemember 32. The annular flexible portion 32, which may be of anoilresistant fabric, rubber or artificial rubber, such as neoprene; isfastened to the inner edge. of the housing 30 and to' arring member 33sliidably mounted on hub 3i. The hub M is splined to: the shaft l2todrive this-shaft. The member 32 is preferably: made of, material thatwill, not be destroyedby theoi-l or other; driving fluid used in thedrive coupling; The member 32'; forming a flexibiezconnectionbetweenthe. housing 35]:and the hub3l 0f bhe shaft t2, absorbsga'll'vibrational force and prevents vibrations fromlbeingg transmittedfrcmthccrankshaft to the-drivenshaft !2- through the connecting-housingstructure; or from: the", driven shaft back to thee crankshaft. Whilethermemberq32 has been'shown in a particular location, it willbeunderstoodthat .it=could be locatedwin otherplaces: andstill preventthe transmission" of vibrationsfromone shaft to the other.

The forced feed lubricating system. illustrated includes asump-i6forvcol'lectingthe oil, an-oil pump 58 forEforcing; the oil: from:theIsulnp IE to .a desired point in the-lubricating system, adistributor-6i and suitable conduits. The sump i6 is. preferablypositioned atlthe. base'of the housing which encloses the driven shaft I2 and the ring gears ii and Hi; andthespump 5B isdriven-from the shafti-Zth-ro-ugh a beveledring-gear 5i keyed to shaft [2; The gear 5!ccoperateswith beveled ringgear 52 keyed to the-upper end of; theshait5d, and the pump. =gear'55eis secured to the lower end of shaft 54. Gear58'; mounted orn-stud shaft 5-? inthe-pump;casingmeshes the gear 5513cpump the oil fromthe-su-mp l6 through-conduit 59cto the distributor 68..

The distributorassembly is mounted in a cover plate Edwhichclcses theend'of theehousing for the shaft l2; andconsistsofahub-shapedcastmgr-provided withan axial bore -63',- and passages 65, 56,8;? and G8 in a. plane perpendicular tc-the bore: and; communicating,therewith. Plugs 64; are screwed-into both-ends of passage. 68" andcause the. communicating-passages to. takeon a Y shape. Connectorelements. iii 7 are-screwed into the ends of each of the three remainingpassages to provide: easy; means for connecting conduits thereto.-Azplugi;=- provided. with cutout portions 82 and 84 anda1.hcllowftube-iikeend pcrtionse' issecuredlzinzborez 68 of thecasting.The-plug- .is held; in fixed position in the bore by means of: a--= nut.wh-ich;is.-. threadedyont'o one end of the plug and abutsthesouterrendaof the casting and, pullsra -.sl'ioulderi"88sof: the:plugst into abutmentwith :the other? side of thes casting-wall. The plugis kept frozr r rotating in' tl'ie bore-by means of a pin 89*- whichlieys it -'to the casting and keeps the recessedportionsoff the plug" inalignment with passages 86' and GF-Qf the casting.

When the parts of the distributor are in assembled position, theconnector in passage 65 is connected to the conduit 59. This permits theoil pumped from the sump [6 by the action of the gear pump 50 to bebrought into the distributor through passage 65, cutout portion 82 andup into conduit ll through passage 61. Conduit ll passes up throughhousing 9 and causes oil passing therethrough to be discharged onto thering gears l8 and I9. From this point, the oil with the aid of a gravityfeed drips down through the various bearings supporting shaft l 5 inhousing I9, onto ring gears H and i4 and 5| and 52, and finally backinto sump l6.

Means are also provided to control the amount of driving fluid in thefluid drive coupling to insure a proper amount of fluid at all times.This consists of a reservoir 9i located at the base of the housing forthe vertical shaft I5 and having a conduit 92 connected thereto flowingoil from the reservoir into the passage 66 and thence through the hole66a in the plug 85 and into the hollow shaft l2. Overflow holes 9lapermit excess oil in the reservoir 9| to flow out into the housing forthe shaft 52. The level of the driving fluid in the reservoir 91 islocated so that oil will accumulate therein to the level of the overflowholes 9| a when the engine is in operation, and during those periodswhen the engine and, therefore, the impeller, is at rest, the oil willfill the fluid drive coupling to approximately the top of the housingformed by the impeller member 22 and the housing member 30. If the fluidis kept within these limits the open communicating passages and fluidhead will serve to insure that the amount of fluid within the fluiddrive coupling is suflicient for starting without too much loss ofpower. When the engine gets up speed centrifugal force will insure thatthe space between the vanes 24 of the impeller and the vanes 28 of theimpelled member will be filled with oil, and the development ofexcessive pressure will be prevented by the fact that excess oil canfeed back through the hollow driven shaft l2, passage 66a and conduit 92into the reservoir 9|.

At the same time by so locating the overflow from the reservoir 9|, suchas the holes 9la, on about the level of the top of the fluid couplinghousing, relief from expansion and contraction of the oilunder heat orcold is assured as expansion of the oil will merely cause it to overflowfrom the reservoir 9| into the sump l6 and contraction will draw moreoil from the reservoir 9! into the fluid drive housing; also, ifpressure develops through other causes this is automatically relieved bythe fact that the oil may flow in either direction through the hole 66ain the plug 66. The oil in the reservoir 9| will also make up for slightleakages of oil from the system should they occur in flight or for othercauses.

While I have described the preferred forms of embodiment of the variousparts constituting my invention; it will be understood that other formsof embodiment or equivalent parts can be used for those specificallydescribed, and that I intend that all such modifications and changes arewithin the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an airplane, an engine, a propeller located at a point remote fromthe engine and out of line with the engine crankshaft, driving meansbetween the engine and the propeller whereby the propeller may be drivenfrom the engine, including an impeller member having recesses thereinfor the reception of a driving fluid and vanes for setting up arotational movement of said driving fluid, an impelled member forreceiving a driving fluid and, vanes to be impelled by a driven fluid, adriving fluid between said impeller member and said impelled member, anda housing to prevent escape of said driving fluid, said housing beingmounted at one end to said impeller and in slidable contact with theimpelled member at the other end, and flexible means provided in saidhousing to prevent the transmission of vibrations from one point ofcontact to the other through said housing.

- 2. In an airplane, an engine, a propeller located at a point remotefrom the engine and out of line with the engine crankshaft, drivingmeans between the engine and the propeller whereby the propeller may bedriven from the engine, including an impeller member connected to theengine having recesses therein for the reception of a driving fluid andvanes for setting up a rotational movement of said driving fluid, animpelled member connected to a hollow driven shaft for receiving adriving fluid and vanes to be impelled by a driving fluid, a drivingfluid between said impeller member and said impelled member, a housingto prevent escape of said driving fluid, said housing being mounted atone end to said impeller and in slidable contact with the hollow drivenshaft of the impelled member at the other end, means provided in saidstructure to prevent the transmission of vibrations from one point ofcontact to the other through said housing comprising an imperforateflexible diaphragm between said housing and said hollow driven shaft,and means for automatically regulating the pressure in saidhousing withrespect to atmospheric pressure when said driving means is in operation,comprising an oil reservoir normally above the hollow driven shaft andan open communication through which oil may flow in either directionbetween said reservoir and said hollow driven shaft.

3. In an aircraft, an engine, a propeller located at a point remote fromthe engine and out of line with the engine crankshaft, a driving meansbetweenthe engine and the propeller whereby the propeller may be drivenfrom the engine, including an impeller member having recesses thereinfor the reception of a driving fluid and vanes for setting up arotational movement of said driving fluid, an impelled member forreceiving a driving fluid and vanes to be impelled by a driven fluid, adriving fluid between said impeller member and said impelled member, ahousing to prevent escape of said driving fluid, said housing beingfixedly mounted on said impeller and in slidable contact with saidimpelled member and provided with flexible means in its structure toprevent the transmission of vibrations from the impeller to the impelledmember through the housing structure, and means for controlling theamount of driving fluid in the housing to insure a proper amount offluid in the housing at all times.

4. In an aircraft, an engine, a propeller located at a point remote fromthe engine and out of line with the engine crankshaft, a driving meansbetween the engine and the propeller whereby the propeller may be drivenfrom the engine, including an impeller member having recesses thereinfor the reception of a driving fluid and vanes for setting up arotational movement of said driving fluid, an impelled member forreceiving a driving fluid 't and van'es: atoI-b'e: impelled by;indrivemfluide a; drivingiiuid .betweenisaid impellermemb'era said:impelled. member; a. driven; shaft fixedly mounted to said impelledmember, a...distributcr. valve, a housing to preventz escapeofrsaidzdriving fluid, and a drivingfiuid reservoirincommunication withsaid housing. through said :driven shaft. and-said distributor valveatthe endthereoi.

5'. In an aircraft, an engine, apropeller located; at a point remotefrom theengine and; out of line with the engine. crankshaft; drivingmeans: be.-.

tween the engine and the propellerwhereby the.

for automatically regulating the pressure in said housing with respectto atmospheric pressure when said driving means is. in operation, saidmeans controlling the. amountof driving fluid in the housing to insure aproper amount. inthe housing at'all times.

6. In an aircraft, an engine, a propeller located at-aepoint remote fromthe engine and out of line with the enginecrankshaft, driving meansbetween the engine and the propeller whereby the propeller may be.driven from the. engine, including an impellermember having recessestherein for the reception oiadriVing fluid and vanes for setting up a.rotational movement of said driving fluid, an impelledmember forreceiving a driving fluid and vanesto be impelled by a driven fluid, adriving fluid between said ampellermemher and said impelled member, ahousing toprevent escape. of saiddriving. fluid, a flexible Wallinisaid'housing, and. a driving fluid reservoir in constant two-Waycommunication With said housing through said driven shaft and saiddistribue tor valve at the end thereof.

7. In an aircraft, an engine, a propeller located at a point remote fromthe engine outof; line with the engine crankshaft, a drivingmeansbetween: the-engine and the propeller whereby the propeller may bedriven from the engine, including an impeller mounted on the. end oi thecrankshaft of the engine for rotation therewith, said impeller havingrecesses for receiving a driving fluid and vanes for setting uprotational move' ment of said driving fluid, a. driven shaft mounted in.substantial alignment Withthe crankshaft and iii-spaced relationshipthereto, an impelled member mounted on the end of said driven shaft for.rotation therewith, and inspaced relationship to said impeller, saidimpelled member being providedwith recesses for receiving a drivingfluidaancr: vane ato be impelled? by. said: fluid,

a. driving fluidbetv'zeensaidi impeller andsaida impelledimember,and-'azhousing cooperating-with impelier member. andzprovided with. anannular;

flexible.wallzportion; separatingthat portion; of the housing:whichcontacts the. impeller from that: portion in slida-bl-econtact withthe impelled member to preventitra-nsmission. of ivibrations between theimpeller: andximpelled memberthrough said-housing;

8. An engine crankshaft,.the axisuof'whichis horizontal'in normal.position; a vertical drive shaft driven from the enginecrankshaft,a'pro-r peller located above the engine and driven from the verticaldrive' shaft, drivin -means between the engine and the propeller wherebythe. propellermay be; driven from the engine, including, an impellermember having recesses therein for. the: reception of a driving fluidand vanesfor setting up a rotational movement ofsaid drivingfluid, animpel-led member forreceiving a.drivingfluid and vanes. to be impelledby a driven fluid, a drivingfluid between said impeller meme her andsaid impelled member, and. a housing to prevent escape-of said drivinfluid, said housing being mountedat one. endto' said-impeller. and in'slidable' contact vviththev impelled member at the other end, andflexib'lezmeans inisaid housing to prevent transmission of vibrationsfrom-one point :of contact tothe other through said housing.

VlCTORlA. LARSEN.

' REFERENCES CITED;

The following referencesv are of record'in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number" Name Date 1,276,847 Wilfiev Aug: 27, 19181,389,562 Schneider" .Aug: 30, 1921 1,747,384 Sundstedt Feb. 18, 19301,750,681 Morse Mar; 18, 1930 1,760,397 Coats' May 27, 1930 1,780,613Bauer- Q Novmi, 1930 1,873,688 Walker -Aug; 23; 1932. 1,331,723 Lee:Oct. 11,.'1932 2,003,975 Rand; .June 4, 1935 2,004,279 Fottinger- June11,1935 2,156,280 Holliday May 2; 19-39 2,263;996- Kimberly Nov. 25,1941 2,285,050 Pezzillo 1 -June -2, 1942 2,359,652 Larsen Oct. 3, 19442,359,930 Miller; .Oct: 10, 1944 2,381,187. Swift: Aug; '7', 1945FOREIGN PATENTS l lunr iber. Country 7 Date 448,550 Great Britain Dec.14, 193a 452,922,. GreatzBritair-r Sept. 1, 1936 621,413.;

7 Germany. Oct. 10,1944

